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Hiotographic 

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CIHM/ICMH 

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>y  errata 
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ine  pelure, 

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32X 


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2 

3 

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5 

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/ 


CS 


CORRESPONDENCE   AND  REMARKS 


BANCROFT'S  HISTORY  OP  THE  NORTHERN  CAMPAIGN 

OP  1777, 


AND   THK  CHAKACTKK  OF 


MAJOR-GEN.  PHILIP  SCHUYLER. 


BY 


GEORGE  L":  SCHUYLER. 


NEW  YORK: 
DAVID    a.    FRANCIS,    506    BROADWAY. 

1867. 


■IF 


,:1 


/ 


BRAUSTREET  HRESS. 


■J  \ 


REMARKS  AND  CORRESPONDENCE. 


The  Northern  Campaign  of  1777,  from  the  import- 
ance of  its  results,  has  always  been  a  subject  of  great 
interest  to  the  student  of  American  history.  In  En- 
gland the  plan  of  it  was  devised  by  the  King,  Lord 
George  Germain  and  General  Burgoyne ;  the  latter 
having  returned  to  England  from  Canada  the  preced- 
ing year.  Its  object  was  to  form  a  junction  between 
the  two  armies — that  in  Canada  and  that  under  Gen- 
eral Howe  in  New  York,  which  was  considered  "the 
speediest  mode  of  quelling  the  rebellion." 

The  army  was  composed  of  about  8000  men,  admira- 
bly appointed.  Burgoyne,  with  the  main  force,  was 
to  proceed  by  Lake  Champlain;  a  detachment  of 
regulars  under  St.  Leger,  and  of  Tories  and  Indians 
under  Sir  John  Johnson,  were  to  enter  the  Mohawk 
country,  draw  the  attention  of  General  Schuyler  in 
that  direction,  attack  Fort  Stanwix,  and,  having  rav- 
aged the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  rejoin  Burgoyne  at 
Albany. 


+f^  V 


It  was  not,  however,  until  late  in  June,  and  after 
General  Burgoyne  had  actually  started  upon  his  expe- 
dition, that  General  Washington  was  certain  of  its 
destination.  He  did  not  know  that  Burgoyne  had 
returned  from  England  with  large  re-enforcements,  and 
it  seemed  not  improbable  that  the  movement  toward 
Ticonderoga  might  be  a  feint,  while  the  main  body  of 
the  army  in  Canada  should  come  round  by  sea,  and 
form  a  junction  with  the  army  under  General  Howe. 

After  protracted  discussions  in  Congress  as  to  what 
should  be  the  relative  positions  of  Schuyler  and  Gates, 
the  former  being  in  commanc  of  the  Northern  Depart- 
ment, with  head-quarters  fixed  at  Albany— the  latter 
posted  at  Ticonderoga,  and  claiming  to  have  an  in- 
dependent command,  on  the    22d   of  May,  General 
Schuyler  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  whole 
Northern  Department,  embracing  Ticonderoga,  Fort 
Stanwix,  and  their  dependencies.     He  reached  Albany, 
from  Philadelphia,  on  the  3d  of  June.     Gates  declining 
to  accept  the  command  of  Ticonderoga,  it  was  assigned 
to  General  St.  Clair. 

General  Schuyler  found  that  "nothing  had  been 
done  during  his  absence  to  improve  the  means  of 
defense  on  the  frontiers.  Nothing,  .comparatively 
speaking,  to  supply  Ticonderoga  with  provisions."    He 


md  after 
lis  expe- 
n   of  its 
)yne  had 
ents,  and 
t  toward 
body  of 
sea,  and 
Howe. 
1  to  what 
nd  Gates, 
1  Depart- 
bhe  latter 
ve  an  in- 
,  General 
tihe  whole 
oga.  Fort 
d  Albany, 
i  declining 
s  assigned 

had  been 
means  of 
paratively 
ions."    He 


T 


proceeded  at  once,  with  his  usual  "activity,  fervor,  and 
energy,"  to  procure  supplies,  rouse  the  committees  of 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  New  York  to  the  im- 
portance of  sending  forward  their  militia,  and  was  on 
his  way  to  re-enforce  St.  Clair  with  about  2000  men, 
when,  on  the  7th  of  July,  he  received  the  intelligence 
that  Ticonderoga  was  evacuated. 

The  whole  country  was  astounded.  So  great  had 
beei^  the  confidence  in  the  strength  of  that  post,  that 
the  wildest  rumors  circulated  with  reference  to  the 
cause  of  this  disaster.  General  Schuyler,  as  command- 
ing the  Department,  was  suspected,  and  charges  of  all 
kinds  were  heaped  upon  him,  of  varying  nature.  By 
some  he  was  accused  of  treason,  by  others  of  coward- 
ice, principally  because  he  was  not  present  when  the 
evacuation  occurred.  It  was  asserted  that  he  had 
ordered  the  heavy  cannon  to  be  removed  from  the  fort 
and  smaller  ones  to  be  substituted  for  them.  Absurd 
rumors  were  circulated,  and  believed,  that  the  price 
for  his  treason  was  inclosed  in  balls  shot  by  the  enemy 
into  his  lines. 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  the  well-known  fact  that 
General  Schuyler,  by  the  verdict  of  a  court-martial,  by 
resolutions  of  Congress,  and  by  the  testimony  of  all 
historians  from  that  time  to  this,  is  acquitted  of  all 


>: 


I 


I     1 


"1 


blame  for  this  surrender  ;  and,  until  now,  of  all  the 
imputations  growing  out  of  it  to  which  I  have  referred. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Ticonderoga  and  the  losses 
at  Hubbardton,  General  St.  Clair  was  five  days  wan- 
dering, unheard  from,  through  the  woods  of  Vermont, 
and  finally  joined  General  Schuyler  at  Fort  Edward 
with  only  "1500  regulars,  the  militia  having  all 
returned  to  their  homes."  They  were  "without  tents 
or  artillery — sickness,  distress,  and  desertion  prevail- 
ing." 

From  this  time,  until  relieved  of  his  command  by 
General  Gates,  which  was  after  the  defeat  of  St.  Leger 
and  the  battle  of  Bennington,  the  conduct  of  the  cam- 
paign by  General  Schuyler  has  met  with  the  unqualified 
approbation  of  those  who  have  studied  its  details  or 
written  its  history,  until  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Ban- 
croft's ninth  volume. 

Chancellor  Kent  says:  "The  enemy  kept  pressing 
upon  his  advanced  posts,  but  in  the  midst  of  unparal- 
leled difficulties  his  retreat  was  slow  and  safe,  and 
every  inch  of  ground  disputed." 

Speaking  of  the  state  of  his  army,  he  says  :  "  By  the 
advice  of  a  council  of  general  officers,  Schuyler  was 
obUged  to  let  one  half  of  the  militia  go  home,  under  a 
promise  of  the  residue  to  continue  for  three  weeks." 


n  ■ 


I 


K  I 


lijwu.ii,'.'  I  "rngi.'.w 


of  all  the 
3  referred, 
the  losses 
iays  wan- 
Vermont, 
rt  Edward 
laving  all 
hout  tents 
m  prevail- 

nmand  by 
f  St.  Leger 
f  the  cam- 
unqualified 
details  or 
'  Mr.  Ban- 

pt  pressing 
[)f  unparal- 
l  safe,  and 

i:  "By  the 
huyler  was 
ne,  under  a 

;  weeks." 


Irving,  in  describing  Washington's  admirable  fore- 
sight at  this  time,  says:  "Due  credit  must  also  be 
given  to  the  sagacious  counsels  and  executive  energy 
of  Schuyler,  who  suggested  some  of  the  best  moves  in 
the  campaign,  and  carried  them  vigorously  into  action. 
Never  was  Washington  more  ably  and  loyally  seconded 
by  any  of  his  generals." 

Chief-Justice  Marshall,  in  his  Life  of  Washington, 
says  :  "In  this  gloomy  state  of  things  no  officer  could 
have  exerted  more  diligence  and  skill  than  Schuyler." 
He  describes  with  fervor  his  proceedings — the  impedi- 
ments thrown  in  the  way  of  an  advance  by  Burgoyne — 
the  destruction  of  roads,  bridges,  and  growing  crops — 
the  driving  away  of  live  stock,  and  his  endeavors  to 
divide  the  enemy's  force  by  posting  troops  upon  his 
flanks. 

I  have  thus,  generally,  referred  to  these  accounts,  in 
order  to  contrast  what  has  hitherto  been  the  estimate 
of  General  Schuyler's  conduct  and  personal  attributes 
in  this  campaign,  with  that  now  given  by  Mr.  Bancroft. 
He  writes  as  follows  : 

"Meantime  the  British  were  never  harried  by  the 
troops  with  Schuyler,  against  whom  pubUc  opinion  was 
rising.  Men  reasoned  rightly,  that,  if  Ticonderoga  was 
untenable,  he  should  have  known  it,  and  given  timely 


I  J 


8 

orders  for  its  evacuation  ;  instead  of  which,  he  had 
been  heaping  up  stores  there  to  the  last.  To  screen 
his  popularity,  he  insisted  that  the  retreat  was  made 
without  the  least  hint  from  himself,  and  was  'ill- 
judged,  and  not  warranted  by  necessity.'  With  manly 
frankness  St.  Clair  assumed  the  whole  responsibility 
of  the  praiseworthy  act  which  had  saved  to  the  country 
many  of  its  bravest  defenders. 

"    "  Schuyler  owed  his  place  to  his  social  position — not 
to  military   talents.      Anxious,    and  suspected   of  a 
want  of  personal  courage,  he  found  everything  go  ill 
under  his  command.     To  the  Continental  troops  of  St. 
Clair,  who  were  suffering  from  the  loss  of  their  clothes 
and  tents,  he  was  unable  to  restore  confidence  ;  nor 
could  he  rouse  the  people.     The  choice  for  Governor 
of  New  York  fell  on  George  Clinton  ;  'his  character,' 
said  Washington  to  the  Council  of  Safety,  '  will  make 
him  peculiarly   useful  at  the  head   of  your   State.' 
Schuyler  wrote  :  '  His  family  and  connections  do  not 
entitle  him  to  so  distinguished  pre-eminence.'     The  aid 
of  Vermont  was  needed  ;  Schuyler  would  never  address 
its  Secretary  except  in  his  '  private  capacity.'     There 
could  be  no  hope  of  a  successful  campaign,  but  with 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  New  England  ;  yet  Schuyler 
gave  leave  for  one  half  of  its  jnilitia  to  go  home  at 


K 


9 


1,  he  had 
To  screen 
was  made 
was  '  ill- 
''ith  manly 
ponsibility 
ae  country 

lition — not 
cted  of  a 
ling  go  ill 
)ops  of  St. 
leir  clothes 
ience  ;  nor 
Governor 
character,' 
will  make 
)ur  State.' 
)ns  do  not 
.'  The  aid 
^rer  address 
iy.'  There 
I,  but  with 
et  Schuyler 
o  home  at 


once,  and  the  rest  to  follow  in  three  weeks,  and  then 
called  upon  Washington  to  supply  their  places  by 
troops  from  the  south  of  Hudson  River,  saying  to  his 
friends  that  one  Southern  soldier  was  worth  two  from 
New  England. 

"  On  the  twenty-second,  long  before  Burgoyne  was 
ready  to  advance,  Schuyler  retreated  to  a  position 
four  miles  below  Fort  Edward.  Here  again  he  com- 
plained of  his  '  exposure  to  immediate  ruin.'  His 
friends  urged  him  to  silence  the  growing  suspicion  of 
his  cowardice  ;  he  answered :  '  If  there  is  a  battle,  I 
shall  certainly  expose  myself  more  than  is  prudent.' 
To  the  New  York  Council  of  Safety  he  wrote  on  the 
twenty-fourth  :  '  I  mean  to  dispute  every  inch  of  ground 
with  Burgoyne,  and  retard  his  descent  as  long  as  pos- 
sible ;'  and  in  less  than  a  week,  without  disputing  any- 
thing, he  retreated  to  Saratoga,  having  his  heart  set 
on  a  position  at  the  junction  of  the  Mohawk  and 
Hudson.  The  courage  of  the  commander  being  gone, 
his  officers  and  his  army  became  spiritless;  and,  as  his 
only  resource,  he  solicited  aid  from  Washington  with 
unreasoning  importunity." 

Further  on,  he  says  :  "All  this  while  Schuyler  con- 
tinued to  despond.  On  the  thirteenth  of  August  he 
could  write  from  Stillwater  to  Washington  :  '  We  are 


t\ 


1  I/. 


10 

obliged  to  give  way  and  retreat  before  a  vastly  supe- 
rior force,  daily  increasing  in  numbers,  and  which  will 
be  doubled  if  General  Burgoyne  reaches  Albany,  which, 
I  apprehend,  will  be  very  soon  ;'  and  the  next  day, 
flying  from  a  shadow  cast  before  him,  he  moved  his 
army  to  the  first  island  in  the  mouth  of  the  Mohawk 
River.  He  pitied  the  man  who  should  succeed  him, 
and  accepted  the  applause  of  his  admirers  at  Albany 
for  '  the  wisdom  of  his  safe  retreat.'  For  all  this  half- 
heartedness,  the  failure  of  Burgoyne  was  certain ;  but 
the  glory  of  his  defeat  was  reserved  for  soldiers  of  Vir- 
ginia, New  York,  and  New  England." 

Upon  my  return  from  Europe  (in  December  last),  I 
read  Mr.  Bancroft's  volume,  and  having  determined,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  confine  myself  to  what  I  consider  per- 
sonal in  this  matter,  viz. :  that  General  Schuyler's  con- 
duct of  the  campaign  was  influenced  by  cowardice,  I 
asked  Mr.  Bancroft  for  the  authority  upon  which  this 
view  was  founded.  He  sent  me  the  following  docu- 
ments : 


Extract  of  a  letter  from  Richard  Montgomery   to  Roht.  R.  Livingston, 

dated 

New  York,  3d  Juno,  1176. 
"  Phil.  Schuyler  was  mentioned  to  me  by  Mr.  Scot,  [for  Mnjor-General  for  Now 
York.]    His  consequence  in  the  province  makes  him  a  lit  subject  for  an  important 
trust,  but  has  he  strong  nerves  7    I  could  wish  to  have  that  point  well  ascertained 


vastly  supe- 
id  which  will 
Ibany,  which, 
he  next  day, 
le  moved  his 
the  Mohawk 
succeed  him, 
rs  at  Albany 
r  all  this  half- 
certain  ;  but 
)ldiers  of  Vir- 

jmber  last),  I 
[etermined,  as 
consider  per- 
chuyler's  con- 
cowardice,  I 
)n  which  this 
llowing  docu- 


,  R.  Livingston, 

IK,  3d  Juno,  1776. 
jor-General  for  Now 
(jeot  for  an  important 
oint  well  ascertained 


)         I 


11 


with  respect  to  any  man  so  employed." — Livingston  Papers,  1775-1777,  pp.  31 
and  33. 


Extract  of  a  letter  fivm  Gen.  Richard  Montgomery,  to  Gen.  Schuyler,  dated 

August,  1775. 
Moving  without  your  orders,  I  do  not  like ;  but,  on  the  otlicr  liand,  the  preven- 
tion of  tiio  enemy  is  of  tlie  utmost  ccnsetiuence;  for  if  ho  gets  Ids  vessels  into  the 
Lake,  it  is  over  with  us  for  the  pres^-'Ut  summer.  Let  me  entreat  you  to  follow  in 
a  whale  boat,  leaving  some  one  to  bring  on  the  troops  and  artillery.  It  will  give 
the  men  great  confldenee  in  your  spirit  and  activity;  and  how  necessary  to  a 
general  this  confidence  is,  I  need  not  toll  you.  I  most  earnestly  wish,  that  this 
may  meet  your  approbation;  and  he  assured  that  I  have  your  honor  and  reputa- 
tion much  at  heart. — Sparks'  Am.  Biography,  vol.  I.,  pp.  194-195. 


Extract  of  a  letter  from  Samuel  Adainx  to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  dated 

PiiiLAnEiiPHiA,  July  15,  1777. 
"  Wo  have  Letters  from  Genl.  Schuyler  in  the  Northern  Department  giving  us 
an  account  of  the  untoward  situation  of  our  affairs  in  that  Quarter.  I  confess 
it  is  no  more  than  I  expected  when  he  [Schuyler]  was  again  appointed  to  the 
command  there.  You  know  that  it  was  urg'd  l)y  some  Gentlemen,  that  as  he 
hati  a  large  interest  and  powerfuU  connections  in  that  part  of  the  country,  no  one 
eoidd  so  readily  avail  himself  of  supplies  for  an  army  there,  if  wanted  upon  an 
emergency,  as  ho  could.  A  most  substantial  reason  why  he  shoidd  have  been 
appointed  a  Quarter  Master  or  a  Commissary.  But  it  seems  .o  have  l)een  a  pre- 
vailing motive  to  appoint  him  to  the  chief  command.  You  have  his  account  in 
the  inclosed  News  Paper,  which  leaves  us  to  guess  what  is  become  of  the  Gar- 
rison, It  is  ind('(!d  droll  enough  to  see  u  General  not  knowing  where  to  find  the 
main  Body  of  his  army  I  Gates  is  the  man  of  my  choice.  He  is  honest  and  true, 
and  has  the  art  of  gaining  the  Love  of  his  Soldiers,  particularly  because  he  is 


I 


■BaSBWaSBRBWHMW 


12 


always  present  and  shares  with  thera  in  Fatigue  and  Danger.  But  Gates  has 
been  disgu.tcd!  Wo  are  ho.irly  expecting  to  be  relieved  fron>  this  disagreeable 
state  of  uncertainty,  by  a  particular  account  from  some  person  who  was  near  the 
nrmv  who  trusts  not  to  memory  altogether,  lest  some  circ.mistances  may  be 
omiUed  wliile  others  are  mianpprehended."-Papers  of  Samuel  Adams,  IV,  912. 


Exb-art  of  an  oruiinal  com  "r  <i'-"fi  «/  «  ^^  ■^•""  -^"'^  '"  •'^'■''«'-''*^'  ''"'"'^ 

21st  July,  1777. 
"A  certain  gentleman  of  that  board  [the  Now  York  Council,]  whom  I  need 
not  name,  and  from  whom  I  do  not  desire  this  information  sliould  ho  concealed,  is 
your  secret  enemy;  he  professes  much  respect  Ac  for  you;  he  can't  see  thro'  the 
business;  he  wishes  you  had  been  nearer  to  the  fort,  [Tico.ideroga]  though  he 
does  not  doubt  your  spirit;  he  thinks  wo  ought  to  suspend  our  judgment,  and  not 
censureyouraahly."— America,  1777,  II.,  112f. 


I 


Gfii.  Srhnylcr  to  John  Jay. 

Moses  Creek,  July  27,  1777. 

Dear  Sir: 

flencral  Arnold  who  is  a<lvanced  with  two  Brigades  of  Continental  troops,  and 
the  militia  of  the  county  of  Albany,  al)out  two  miles  in  our  front,  has  just  informed 
me  that  the  enemy  have  apiwared  on  the  heights  above  Fort  Kdward  in  consid- 
erable forct^  and  that  from  these  movements  he  judges  an  attack  will  be  made  to 
day.  Loth  as  I  am  that  a  general  engagement  should  ensue,  and  that  I  will 
take  every  prudent  measure  to  prevent  it,  it  is  not  impossible  ijut  it  may  take 
place,  and  as  the  fate  of  every  person  engaged  in  it  is  uncertain,  as  I  shall  cer- 
tainly be  there,  and  in  order  to  inspirit  my  troops  shall  expose  myself  more  than 
it  is  prudent  for  a  commanding  officer  to  do,  I  may  possibly  get  rid  of  the  cares  of 
this  life,  01  fall  into  their  hands ;  in  either  case  I  entreat  you  to  rescue  my  memory 
from  tliat  load  of  calumny  that  ever  follows  the  unfortunate.     My  pai^Ts  will 


13 


But  Gates  has 
lis  disagreeable 
10  was  near  the 
tances  may  be 
ama,  IV.,  912. 


furnish  you  with  suHieient  materials,  and  I  trust  that  the  goodness  of  your  heart 
will  induce  you  to  devote  a  part  of  your  time  to  it.  I  leave  this  with  my  Secre- 
tary to  bo  sent  to  you,  if  I  shall  not  return.  I  am  this  moment  going  to  mount. 
Adieu! 

Knuorsed  :  To  be  sent  if  any  accident  should  happen  to  me. 

[No  accident  iiappened,  but  the  letter  was  sunt  to  Jay.] 


uyle^\  dated 

St  July,  1777. 
,]  whom  I  need 
be  concealed,  is 
in't  see  tliro'  the 
■oga]  though  he 
dgment,  and  not 


Will.  D'li'f  til  Gen.  Sclniyler. 


i 


Philadelphia,  29th  July,  1777. 

[EXTUACT.] 

There  is  lint  one  thing  for  you  to  do  to  establish  your  character  on  such  a  basis 
that  even  suspicion  itself  shall  bo  silent,  and  in  doing  tiiis,  you  will  I  am  con- 
scious follow  tiio  impulse  of  your  own  heart.  From  the  nature  of  your  depart- 
ment, and  other  unavoidable  causes  you  have  not  during  the  course  of  this  war 
had  an  opportunity  of  evincing  that  spirit  which  I  and  your  more  intimate  friends 
know  you  to  possess.  Of  this  circumstance  prejudice  takes  a  cruel  advantage, 
and  malice  lends  an  easy  ear  to  her  dictates.  You  will  not  I  am  sure  sec  this 
place  till  your  conduct  gives  the  lie  to  this  insinuation,  us  it  has  done  before  to 
every  other  which  your  enemies  have  so  industriously  circulated. — Rev.  Pajiers. 
355-367. 


July  27,  1777. 

icntal  troops,  and 
has  just  informed 
Rdward  in  consid- 
ik  will  be  made  to 
,  and  that  I  will 
but  it  may  take 
lin,  as  I  shall  cor- 
myaelf  more  than 
rid  of  the  cares  of 
•escue  my  memory 
My  pajK-rs  vrill 


Extfoct  of  a  lettei- from  Gen.  Schuyler  to  Wm.  JMcer,  dated 

Aliian'V,  August  8,  1777. 
"  The  scoimdrels  lliat  doubt  my  iiersonal  fortitude  dare  not  put  it  to  the  tryal."- 
Revolutionary  PajK-rs,  373. 


Out.  Udney  Hay  to  Gen.  Clinton. 

Still w.\TEU,  August  13,  1777. 
SiK: 

I  lament  I  cannot  give  your  Excellency  a  bettor  accoimt  of  things  here.     Mis- 
fortunes and  fatigue  have  broken  down  the  discipline  and  spirits  of  tlio  troops 


[    I 


1 


14 


und  oonvertcl  then  in  a  (treat  deRroc  into  a  rabble.  They  seem  to  have  lost 
all  conlidonco  in  themselves  and  their  leaders.  The  militia  seem  to  bo  infected 
with  tlie  same  si.irit.  Sueli  as  are  with  us  are  Rood  for  nothing  but  to  eat  and 
waste  and  urumblo,  and  those  at  home  think  homo  safest.  When  I  toll  you  that 
the  8it?bt  of  twenty  or  thirty  Indians  on  our  Hank  or  roar,  fills  the  whole  oamp 
with  alarm,  and  that  the  act  of  shootintr  one  from  behind  the  walls  of  a  Iok  cabni 
has  been  commemorated  in  General  Orders  as  a  proof  of  great  gallantry,  your 
Excollcnoy  will  be  able  to  judge  of  what  will  proV)ably  happen,  if  by  any  accident 
we  are  brought  into  dose  contact  with  Kurgoyno's  veterans.  But  of  such  an 
eveiu.  there  is  little  danger.  We  first  collected  at  Fort  Edward,  but  quickly  loft 
that  for  a  strong  position  on  Moses'  Creek.  The  Indians  soon  made  this  uncom- 
fortable, when  we  removed  here  and  began  a  fortified  camp,  hut  liore  we  are  not 
safe,  and  I  am  under  orders  for  another  move.  Van  Schaick's  Island  is  thought 
.  to  be  safe  against  the  attacks  of  Indians,  and  there  we  go.  Should  he  [Gates] 
not  come  soon,  your  Mxcellency  may  expect  to  hear  that  our  Headquarters  are 
removed  to  Albany. 


[Collection  of  Papers,  431-t:!;i.] 
V         Jim.  Dmne  to  Gen.  Schuyler. 

PlllLAl).  2;id  .\ugt.,  1777. 
[Extract.] 
The  change  of  command  was  founded  merely  on  the  representation  of  tho 
Eastern  States,  that  their  militia  suspicious  of  your  military  character,  would  not 
turn  out  in  defense  of  New  York  while  you  presided  in  tho  Northern  Depart- 
ment. 

*  ******** 

All  your  friends  wish  that  fortune  may  put  it  in  your  power  to  give  some 
signal  proof  of  the  only  nulitary  talent  which  you  have  not  evidenced  in  the 
course  of  your  command  for  want  of  an  opportunity. 


In  the  correspondence  which  ensued  with  Mr.  Ban- 
croft I  did  not  deem  it  necessary,  in  each  case  which 


I 


15 


pn 


ocm  to  have  lost 
m  to  bo  iiifectod 
jj;  but  to  cat  and 
en  I  toll  you  tliai 

the  wliolo  I'aiiip 
lUa  of  a  lojr  eabin 
it  gallantry,  your 
if  by  any  accident 

But  of  H\ich  an 
I,  but  quickly  lofl 
made  this  iincom- 
t  licrc  we  are  not 
Island  is  thought 
?hould  he  [Gates] 
Ilcadquurtors  are 


13d  Augt.,  1777. 

rescntation  of  the 
uractor,  would  not 
Northern  Depart- 


wer  to  give  some 
evidenced  in  the 


ith  Mr.  Ban- 
i  case  which 


admitted  of  it,  to  show  that  the  extract  was  quaUfied 
by  the  general  tenor  of  the  letter. 

General  Montgomery's  familiar  letter  to  his  brother- 
in-law,  written  hi  1775,  before  the  army  appointments 
were  made,  and  speculating  upon  the  fitness  of  the 
candidates,  will  hardly  pass  as  the  expression  of  an 
opinion. 

The  letter  of  Mr.  Jay,  of  July  21st,  1777,  is  pub- 
lished at  length  in  his  life  by  his  son,  William  Jay.  It 
is  a  long  and  sympathizing  letter,  enumerating  all  the 
rumors  in  circulation  as  to  the  loss  of  Ticonderoga,  to 
which  I  have  previously  referred. 

If  from  this  letter  Mr.  Bancroft  can  find  any  ground 
for  imputing  cowardice  to  General  Schuyler,  he  would 
have  much  stronger  reasons  for  accusing  him  of  treason 
and  dishonesty. 

This  also  applies  to  several  of  the  other  extracts, 
when  read  in  connection  with  the  whole  letters. 

At  this  time,  it  seemed  to  me,  that  Mr.  Bancroft  must 
have  been  accidentally  led  to  ignore  all  other  rumors 
connected  with  the  loss  of  Ticonderoga,  while  endeavor- 
ing to  fasten  this  one  as  a  permanent  stain  on  General 
Schuyler's  character.  In  this  spirit  I  commented,  as 
follows,  upon  what  he  advances  as  sufficient  authority 
for  his  version  : 


IT 


16 


,  New  York,  Dec.  28th,  1866. 

Hon.  Georoe  Bancroft, 
Dear  Sir  : 

I  have  read  with  interest,  in  your  last  vohime,  the  account 
of  the  Northern  cam])aign  of  1777,  and  am  much  disappointed 
at  the  conchisions  you  have  arrived  at  in  regard  to  the  public 
services  of  my  grandfather,  General  Schuyler. 

I  should  not,  of  course,  trouble  you  with  any  pei'sonal  com- 
munication on  that  score.  You  have,  however,  by  way  of 
explaining  his  want  of  success,  attacked  his  private  character, 
hitherto  unimpeached,  attributing  to  him  want  of  pereonal 
courage,  the  gravest  cRarge  which  can  be  brought  against  a 
soldier. 

It  is  but  fair  to  assume  that  you  have  made  this  charge  from 
a  sense  of  duty,  and  based  upon,  what  seems  to  you,  conclusive 
evidence. 

As  the  representative  of  General  Schuyler,  you  cannot  deem 
it  unreasonable  in  me  to  ask  you,  at  your  earliest  leisure,  for 
access  to  the  sources  of  information  which  have  authorized  you 
to  make  these  broad  statements  to  his  dishonor. 

Respectfully  youi"s,  &c., 
George  L.  Schuyler. 


i 


t  m 


•  New  York,  Dec.  28th,  1866. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Schuyler  : 

I  this  moment  receive  your  letter  of  to-day.  I  think  you 
cannot  have  read  my  volume  with  care.  I  represent  the  loss  of 
Ticonderoga  as  that  which  must  have  taken  place  whoever  had 
been  in  command;  and  I  explain  the  diminution  of  General 
Schuyler's  force  as  a  consequence  of  the  state  of  feeling  between 
himself  and  the  New  England  men.     Were  it  anybody  but  one 


ec.  28th,  1866. 


,  the  account 
disappointed 
to  the  public 

)ei'8onal  com- 
•,  by  way  of 
ite  character, 
of  pereonal 
^ht  against  a 

3  charge  from 
)u,  conclusive 

cannot  deem 
st  leisure,  for 
ithorized  you 

•s,  &c., 

SCHUYLEK. 


tec.  28th,  1866. 

I  think  you 
jnt  the  loss  of 
1  whoever  had 
m  of  General 
eling  between 
body  but  one 


]   MHIIKIIIfU,  IIL 


)  ) 


17 


like  you,  for  whom  I  cheiish  a  most  sincere  regard,  I  mijht 
decline  anything  that  could  lead  to  a  private  discussion  of  ques- 
tions a])pertaining  to  liistory ;  but  to  you  I  prefer  to  say  that  if 
you  will  specify  any  passage  of  mine  of  the  character  which 
you  indicate,  I  will  endeavor  to  set  before  you  grounds  for  the 

statement  .  >- 

Very  truly  youra, 

Geo.  Bancroft. 


New  York,  Dec.  29th,  1866. 
Dear  Sir: 

The  words  which  bear  upon  the  private  character  of  General 
Schuyler,  referred  to  in  my  note  of  yesterday,  are  on  pages  872 
and  373  of  your  last  volume. 

"Anxious,  and  suspected  of  a  want  of  "personal  courage^ 

"  His  fiiends  urged  him  to  silence  the  (jroiving  sttspicmi  of  his 
cowardice." 

Page  374  you  give  an  intimation  that  Washington  shared  in 
these  views;  but  as  the  expression  "want  of  fortitude"  admits 
of  a  different  construction,  I  confine  myself,  as  stated  in  my 
note,  to  asking  for  the  grounds  on  which  you  are  satisfied  to 
write  of  General  Schuyler  as  a  man  suspected  of  want  of  per- 
sonal courage. 

Respectfully  youre, 

George  L.  Schuyler. 

The  same  day  I  received  from  Mr.  Bancroft  the  extracts 
already  published. 


New  York,  January  16th,  1867. 

Dear  Sir  : 

Absence  from  New  York  has  prevented  me  from  acknowl- 
edging, at  an  earlier  date,  the  receipt  of  your  note  of  December 
29th,  and  the  documents  accompanying  it 


'Mi 
ills 

m 


18 


I  s 


When  I  asked  for  the  evidence  upon  which,  in  your  History 
of  the  Campaign  of  1777,  you  stamp  the  private  character  of 
General  Schuyler  as  a  man  "suspected  of  want  of  personal 
courage,"  I  did  not  propose  to  question  the  fact  that  reports  to 
that  effect  were  circulated  in  obscure  or  interested  quarters. 

He  was,  in  like  manner,  suspected  of  frauds  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment ;  of  treason  to  the  national  cause ;  of  eveiy  minor  oftense 
that  prejudice  or  malice  could  devise,  by  some  who  had  private 
animosities  to  avenge,  and  by  others  who,  in  public  life,  were 
aiming  at  *  the  removal  of  those  generals  who  placed  implicit 
confidence  in  the  ability  and  patriotism  of  Washington ;  thus 
inaugurating  a  policy  which  was  to  culminate  in  the  appointment 
of  General  Gates  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  araiies  of  the 
United  States. 

All  of  these  charges  which  were  brought  foi*ward  with  any 
semblance  of  authority  were  closely  investigated  and  refuted. 
Most  of  them  were  withdrawn  by  the  parties  who  made  them. 

A  Committee  of  Inquiry- of  Congi-ess  made  a  report  which 
placed  the  character  of  General  Schuyler  "  higher  than  ever  as 
an  able  and  active  commander,  and  a  zealous  and  disinterested 
patriot" 

When  the  charge  of  treason,  with  documents  supposed  amply 
to  sustain  it,  was  forwarded  to  General  Washington,  he  thus 
writes  to  General  Schuyler:  "I  look  upon  the  charge  against 
you  with  an  eye  of  disbelief,  and  sentiments  of  detestation  and 
abhorrence." 

Of  the  vague  rumora  that  w^ant  of  pereonal  courage  was 
among  the  causes  which  influenced  General  Schuyler  in  his  pol- 
icy of  retarding  the  advance  of  Burgoyne  for  more  than  two 
months  to  a  progress  of  half  a  mile  a  day,  until  the  enlistment  of 
fresh  troops  enabled  him,  as  he  did,  to  take  the  offensive,  no  pub- 
lic notice  appears  ever  to  have  been  taken.  His  pl.an,  approved 
by  Washington,  and  sustained  by  all  subsequent  military  criti- 
cism, except  yom-s,  when  once  understood,  seems  to  have  left 


f     i 


19 


your  History 
!  character  of 
t  of  pei-sonal 
hat  reports  to 
quarters, 
pon  the  Gov- 
minor  oft'ense 
o  had  private 
jlic  life,  were 
laced  implicit 
lington;  thus 
J  appointment 
armies  of  the 

ard  with  any 
and  refuted, 
made  them, 
report  which 
than  ever  as 
disinterested 

pposed  amply 
^on,  he  thus 
iharge  against 
3testation  and 


ler  in  his  pol- 
ore  than  two 
enlistment  of 
nsive,  no  pub- 
Ian,  approved 
military  criti- 
j  to  have  left 


such  rumors  to  fall  to  the  gi-ound.     Nor  am  I  aware  that  they 
were  ever  called  up  again  during  his  after  career. 

This  portion  of  your  history  aj)i)(?ars  nearly  fifty  years  after 
the  actors  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  have  passed  away.  It 
is  written  in  the  namative  style ;  autliorities  are  not  referred  to, 
but  quotations  of  sentences  are  freely  interpolated  in  the  text ; 
a  method  which  gives  force  and  weight  to  a  paragraph,  but  dan- 
gerous as  to  the  coiTectness  of  the  impressions  which  may  be 
produced. 

Your  conclusions,  as  you  state  in  the  preface,  are  the  result 
of  long  study  and  investigation,  and  of  a  careful  weighing  of 
testimony  as  regards  the  public  services  and  private  character 
of  those  of  whom  you  treat.  When,  tiierefore,  you  attribute  to 
"  want  of  personal  courage"  General  Schuyler's  management  of 
the  Campaign  of  1777,  no  one  who  reads,  can  doubt  that  your 
impressions  are  based  upon  evidence  of  a  most  convincing  kind. 
But  if  this  is  not  the  case ;  if,  nearly  a  hundred  years  after  the 
termination  of  his  militaiy  career,  such  charges  can  be  brought 
up  against  a  commanding  general,  based  only  upon  the  camp 
gossip  and  partisan  rumors  of  the  day,  what  man's  reputation  is 
safe  ? 

Who,  of  the  generals  ranking  among  the  first  in  our  late  war 
of  the  rebellion,  is  not  aware  Uiat  his  official  conduct  and  his 
private  character  have  both  been  assailed,  at  times,  by  ignorance, 
prejudice,  or  malice ;  that  reports  have  been  circulated  which 
pereonal  friends  have  commented  upon  with  bitterness,  urging  him 
to  refute  them  by  word  or  deed,  and  yet  who  lives  on  with  the 
firm  assurance  that,  when  the  future  historian  shall  examine 
calmly  and  without  prejudice  into  his  personal  character  and 
official  career,  they  will  not  have  a  feather's  weight  in  determ- 
ining the  position  he  is  to  hold  in  the  estimation  of  succeeding 
generations? 

Presuming,  therefore,  that  you  are  acting  upon  fair  and  delib- 
erate conviction,  and  after  careftil  examination,  the  papers  you 

3 


■sij 


Mi 


20 


r  ' 


inclose  to  me,  as  giving  the  just  gi'ouncls  for  the  conchxsions  to 
which  you  have  arrived,  seeui  to  nie  wholly  insufficient  Many 
of  them  do  not  refer  to  his  personal  chai'acter  at  all,  and  those 
that  do,  only  prove  that  such  repoiis  existed ;  that  they  were 
fostered  by  the  j)olitieal  and  private  enemies  of  General  Schuy- 
ler, to  the  great  indignation  of  his  personal  friends,  who  treat 
them  with  contempt. 

I  shall  refer  to  them  generally.  When  General  Montgomery, 
having  learned  that  Carleton  had  completed  his  armed  vessels 
at  St  Johns,  hastened  to  the  Isle  au  Noix  without  orders,  he 
knew,  as  you  are  aware,  that  General  Schuyler  was,  by  order  of 
Congress,  attending  a  Conference  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Albany. 
He  felt  the  importance  of  his  presence,  as  the  campaign  was 
about  to  open.  Their  personal  relations  were  of  the  warmest 
kind.  General  Montgomery,  than  whom  no  braver  man  lived, 
always  leaned  upon  the  suppoi't  of  General  Schuyler  for  his 
greater  powers  of  organization,  as  well  as  for  his  indefatigable 
spirit  and  energy.  You  are  also  aware  that  General  Schuyler 
did  join  him  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  his  letter,  though 
suffering  under  illness  of  the  most  excruciating  character. 

The  letter  you  inclose  from  General  Montgomery  is  not  the 
whole  letter,  or  a  continuous  extract  from  it  Your  clerk,  in 
transcribing  it,  has  omitted  the  closing  words  of  the  last  sentence. 
He  ends  his  extract  with  these  words :  "  Be  assured  I  have  your 
honor  and  reputation  much  at  heart;"  but  the  sentence  is  as 
follows :  "Be  assured  I  have  your  honor  and  reputation  much 
at  heart,  as  of  the  greatest  consequerwe  to  the  piihlic  service; — that 
all  my  ambition  is  to  do  my  duty  in  a  subordinate  capacity, 
without  the  least  ungenerous  intention  of  lessening  that  merit 
.so  justly  your  due,  and  which  I  omit  no  opportunity  of  setting 
in  its  fullest  light"     General  Montgomery  was  no  hypocrite. 

I  find  nothing  in  this  letter,  or  in  anything  said  or  written  by 
General  Montgomeiy,  which  even  alludes  to  the  question  of 
General  Schuyler's  peraonal  courage.    Their  relations  were  close 


I     I 


21 


onclnsions  to 
c'ient  Many 
nil,  and  those 
lat  they  were 
jneral  Schuy- 
ids,  who  treat 

Montgomery, 
[inned  vessels 
Dut  orders,  he 
s,  by  order  oi' 
ns  at  Albany, 
ampaign  was 

the  wannest 
er  man  lived, 
inyler  for  his 

indefatigable 
3ral  Schuyler 
letter,  though 
laracter, 
3ry  is  not  the 
''our  clerk,  in 
last  sentence. 
1 1  have  your 
sentence  is  as 
utation  much 
se)^vice; — that 
late  capacity, 
tig  that  merit 
lity  of  setting 
)  hypocrite. 

or  written  by 
e  question  of 
ons  were  close 


and  warm  up  to  the  glorious  end  of  Montgomeiy's  careor.  They 
were  both  "ausjiected  of  want  of  skill  and  bravery"  by  rumors 
attributed  to  General  Wooster  (thoivgh  subsetpu-ntly  denied  by 
him  to  be  true),  and  each  did  all  in  his  power  to  encourage  and 
support  the  other,  under  the  load  of  difliculties,  caused  by  mal- 
ice and  insubordination,  which  tried  them  almost  beyond  ])ower 
of  endurance. 

The  sneers  of  Samuel  Adams  tall  harmlessly  to  the  ground 
when  he  insinuates  of  General  Schuyler  what  he  does  of  Wash- 
ington, criticising  his  "Fabian  policy"  as  being  caused  by  want 
of  proper  sj)irit,  and  when  he  launches  forth  in  praises  of  the 
honesty,  truth  and  courage  of  Gates,  "the  man  of  his  choice."* 

All  that  he  says  of  General  Schuyler's  ignorance  of  the  where- 
abouts of  St.  Clair,  after  his  flight  from  Ticonderoga,  and  his 
insinuations  as  to  General  Schuyler's  not  being  where  he  could 
give  an  account  of  that  affair,  of  course  have  no  weight  in  form- 
ing your  opinion,  as  a  very  few  days  sufficed,  after  that  letter 
was  written,  to  explain  the  reasons,  which  are  well  known  to 
you. 

I  almost  think  that  General  Schuyler's  letter  to  John  Jay  has 
been  sent  to  me  by  mistake. 

When  near  the  prospect  of  a  general  engagement,  which  .he 
desires,  if  possible,  to  prevent, — (he  had  but  4500  men,  regulars 
and  militia  included,  to  oppose  to  the  whole  army  of  Burgoyne,) 
— at  the  same  time,  if  it  does  occur,  feeling  there  is  a  necessity, 
"with  a  smaller  and  dispirited  force,  for  him  to  expose  himself 
more  than  is  customary  for  a  commanding  officer  to  do,"  it  does 
not  seem  to  me  unmanly  in  General  Schuyler  to  confide  this  to 

*  The  biographer  of  Samuel  Adams  thus  comments  upon  the  result  of  his  per- 
severing and  successful  efforts  in  Congress  to  obtain  General  Schuyler's  removal : 

"Time  has  removed  from  General  Schuyler  all  blame  in  the  disasters,  and  the 
investigation  of  his  conduct  resulted  in  his  honorable  acquittal.  The  substitution  of 
Gates  gave  to  the  country  a  General  who  was  in  no  respect  superior  to  Schuyler, 
than  whom  a  braver  or  more  trustworthy  patriot  never  lived." 


in 
I 


\\\ 


^1 


a  most  intimate  personal  friend,  and  to  request  him,  in  case  of 
accidoiit,  to  tiike  cliargo  of  his  papei-s,  and  relieve  his  memory 
from  "that  load  of  calnnniy  that  ever  follows  the  unfortunate. " 
On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  me  to  show  that  at  sueh  a  time  it 
was  not  fear  of  death,  but  of  the  loss  of  reputation,  dearer  to 
him  than  life,  which  was  uppermost  in  General  Schuyler's 
thoughts  and  feelings. 

The  letter  of  Colonel  Udney  Ilay  to  George  Clinton  is  but 
an  ignorant  criticism  of  the  plan  of  a  campaign  which  he  did 
not  comprehend,  while  the  letter  of  Mr.  Duer  refers  to  the  mali- 
cious reports  in  circulation  after  the  loss  of  Ticonderoga,  api)ar- 
ently  to  assure  General  Schuyler  how  much  they  provoke,  but 
how  little  they  move,  him  and  others  of  his  personal  friends. 

Had  you  deemed  it  worth  while  to  have  copied  for  my  use 
the  whole  of  this  letter  as  published  in  Irving's  History  (Vol.  iii., 
p.  132),  the  bearing  of  your  extract,  as  in  the  case  of  General 
Montgomery's  letter,  would  have  been  better  understood. 

The  partial  extracts  of  letters  of  Jay  and  Duane  show  still 
more  clearly  that  these  reports  are  fomented  by  personal  and 
political  foes,  who  endeavor  to  keep  themselves  out  of  sight. 

Well  may  General  Schuyler  say,  in  his  reply  to  Mr.  Duen 
"  The  scoundrels  who  doubt  my  pereonal  fortitude  dare  not  put 
it  to  the  trial." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  tenor  of  General  Schuyler's 
character  and  pui-suits  seems  to  be  at  variance  with  the  conclu- 
sions you  have  drawn  from  these  very  slight  premises.  He  was 
descended  from  a  family  which,  from  the  first  settlement  of  the 
Colony,  ever  bore  an  active  and  honorable  part  in  the  savage 
warfare  which  characterized  the  contests  of  those  days,  when 
small  bodies  of  men  met  in  close  conflict,  and  when  battles  were 
more  especially  lost  or  won  by  the  personal  bearing  of  those 
who  were  engaged  in  them. 

In  that  region,  between  the  lakes  and  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Hudson,  appropriately  styled  "  the  bloody  ground  "  of  the  Col- 


-mi 


)     I 


lim,  in  cnse  of 
e  his  memory 
unfortunate. " 
such  a  time  it 
;ion,  dearer  to 
■al   Schuyler's 

Dlinton  is  but 
wliich  he  tlid 
rs  to  the  mali- 
deroga,  api)ar- 

provoke,  but 
ami  friends. 
!d  for  my  use 
story  (Vol.  iii., 
vse  of  General 
erstoocL 
ane  show  still 

personal  and 
lit  of  sight. 
■  to  Mr.  Duel", 
e  dare  not  put 

ral  Schuyler's 
th  the  conclu- 
lises.  He  was 
tlement  of  the 
in  the  savage 
ie  days,  when 
in  battles  were 
iring  of  those 

r  waters  of  the 
i"of  theCol- 


28 


ony  of  New  York,  there  is  scarcely  a  district  where  lie  (!ould 
not  point  to  the  grave  of  an  ancestor,  or  to  some  record  of  their 
unflinching  energy  in  victory  or  defeat.  This  may  appear  to 
you  irrelevant,  but  it  ought,  and  does,  have  ita  weight  when  we 
are  called  upon  to  believe  that  a  man  with  sucth  antecedents 
should  have  so  basely  degenerated  in  lieart,  while  he  apparently 
followed  so  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  his  ancestors,  making  war 
the  profession  of  his  choice,  when  there  was  but  little  induce- 
ment for  a  native  of  the  Cokmy  t<^  enter  the  service  of  the  Brit- 
ish army. 

At  eighteen  years  of  age  he  embarked  in  tho.se  ex])editions 
among  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  which  were  always  cus- 
tomary with  his  family,  when  he.  obtained  that  influence  over 
them,  aftenvard  .so  important  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  an 
influence  based  in  part  upon  his  reputation  for  truth  and  jus- 
tice ;  but  of  far  more  weight  with  that  rude  and  warlike  race 
was  his  wide-spread  renown  for  activity,  firmness,  and  contempt 
of  danger. 

He  served  in  the  old  French  war  as  a  captain,  under  Colonel 
Bradstreet,  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  adventurous  of  tiie 
commanders  of  the  time.  He  was  by  his  side  through  a  severe 
fight  of  unequal  numbei-s  on  the  Oswego  Kiver,  and  there  had 
an  occasion  for  displaying  qualities  of  humanity  which  savor 
little  of  want  of  self-confidence  or  courage, 

"  When  it  became  necessary  to  abandon  the  island  to  meet 
the  enemy,  advancing  in  large  numbei-s  on  the  shore  of  the 
river,  there  being  but  one  batteau,  already  overloaded,  the  sol- 
diers refused,  on  the  score  of  safety,  to  receive  in  it  a  wounded 
soldier  of  the  enemy.  Captain  Schuyler,  handing  his  weapoHS 
and  coat  to  a  companion,  bore  the  wounded  man  to  the  water, 
swam  with  him  on  his  back  across  the  deep  channel,  placed  him 
in  the  hands  of  a  surgeon,  and  joined  his  command  in  time  to 
lead  them  in  the  severe  fight  which  followed,  and  which  ended 
in  the  repulse  of  the  enemy." 


■■.5; ! 


i 


i 


-*>*>:  •r-.-»-.'**''«f?!»" 


;i 


■ 


24 


With  General  Bradstreet  he  maintained  the  closest  peraonal 
relations,  which  lasted  through  life.  So  also  with  Lord  Vis- 
count Howe,  who  fell  at  Ticonderoga  With  all  his  brother 
ofRcere,  after  the  peace  of  1V63,  he  held  a  place  utterly  in- 
compatible with  any  suspicion  as  to  his  wanting  personal 
courage.    ,     .  •  . 

His  subsequent  career  as  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Legisla- 
ture, and  of  various  other  public  bodies,  was  marked  by  a  bold- 
ness and  independence  which  often  put  both  his  moral  and 
personal  courage  to  the  proof 

When  a  fi-ightened  and  pliant  legislature,  composed  almost 
exclusively  of  men  of  wealth  and  high  standing,  strove  to  crush 
the  somewhat  violent  remonstrances  of  the  advocates  of  popular 
rights  by  proposing  measures  to  detect  and  imprison  the  authors 
of  them,  he  alone  stood  up  for  their  rights;  and  the  sole 
negative  vote  on  the  reccd,  in  their  behalf,  is  that  of  Philip 
Schuyler. 

Private  lettei-s  show  that  he  was  ready,  if  necessary,  to  respond 
to  the  custom  of  his  time,  which  requii-ed  personal  satisfaction 
to  be  given  f /r  real  or  supposed  injuries,  and  from  which  no 
family  has  suffered  more  than  his  own ;  a  custom  now  almost 
generally  condemned,  but  the  observance  of  which  was  then 
deemed  indispensable. 

When  subsequently  appointed  a  Major-General  in  the  Army 
of  the  United  States,  the  only  period  of  his  life  to  which  the 
rumors  now  under  consideration  refer,  it  is  difficult  to  discrimi- 
nate between  the  personal  character  of  the  man  and  his  public 
services  as  a  commanding  officer;  the  latter  being  a  subject  from 
which,  in  this  correspondence,  I  purposely  refrain. 

As  against  the  rumore,  however,  upon  which  your  conclusions 
are  founded,  I  am  satisfied  to  rest  General  Schuyler's  reputation 
as  a  man  of  courage,  upon  general  grounds.  If  a  person  so  sit- 
uated has  been  ivanting  in  courage,  it  is  generally  not  difficult 
to  establish  the  fact;  but  it  is  not  always  easy  to  prove  positively 


lest  pei*sonal 
h  Lord  Vis- 
his  brother 
3  utterly  in- 
ng  personal 

tiial  Legisla-     j 
id  by  a  bold- 
i  moral  and 

•osed  almost 
ove  to  crush 
!s  of  popular 
I  the  authors 
nd  the  sole 
at  of  Philip 

y,  to  respond 
satisfaction 

[n  which  no 
now  almost 

)h  was  then 

n  the  Army 
0  which  the 
to  discrimi- 
i  his  public 
subject  from 

conclusions 
s  reputation 
lerson  so  sit- 
not  difficult 
fe  positively 


WB"^ 


25 


the  reverse,  unless  circumstances  have  afforded  an  exceptional 
opportunity  in  the  case  of  a  general  officer  to  do  so. 

General  Schuyler  has  now  been  dead  more  than  sixty  yeare. 
Sufficient  time  has  elapsed  to  fonn  an  impartial  estimate  of  his 
private  character,  as  well  as  of  his  public  sei-vices.  Whatever 
may  be  thought  of  ihe  latter,  no  man  until  now  has  publicly 
impugned  the  former.  Many  have  borne  their  testimony  to  its 
worth,  embi-acing  in  that  tribute  their  sense  of  his  "  fiery  spirit " 
as  one  of  its  prominent  attributes. 

Daniel  "Webster  said  to  me,  upon  a  social  occasion,  "  When  a 
life  of  your  grandfather  is  to  be  published,  I  should  like  to  write 
a  preface.  I  was  brought  up  with  New  England  prejudices 
against  him,  but  I  consider  him  as  second  only  to  Washing- 
ton in  the  services  he  rendered  to  the  country  in  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  His  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  cause, 
under  difficulties  which  would  have  paralyzed  the  efforts 
of  most  men,  and  his  fortitude  and  courage  when  assailed 
by  malicious  attacks  upon  his  public  and  private  character, 
every  one  of  which  was  jyroved  to  he  false,  have  impressed  me 
with  a  strong  desire  to  express  publicly  my  sense  of  his  gi-eat 
qualities." 

Chief  Justice  Kent,  writing  of  General  Schuyler,  says :  "  In 
acuteness  of  intellect,  profound  Liiought,  indefatigable  activity, 
exhaustless  energy,  jjure  patriotism,  and  persevering  and  intrepid 
public  efforts,  he  had  no  superior." 

The  campaigns  of  1776  and  1777  are  treated  by  Washing- 
ton Irving  much  more  in  detail  than  they  are  by  you.  You 
are  well  aware  how  differently  he  judges  of  the  public  ser- 
vices of  General  Schuyler  from  youraelf ;  and  surely  no  one 
could  have  a  quicker  or  more  refined  perception  than  Mr. 
Irving  of  all  that  was  noble  or  contemptible  in  any  man's 
private  character.  His  pages  beam  throughout  with  warm 
expressions  of  his  high  esteem  for  General  Schuyler  as  a 
soldier  and  a  man.     I  may  also  say  that  Mr.  Irving  frequently 


•ii 


fi  .1 


I 


;  ii'r 


! 


^1 


i  lt^ 


2C 


expressed  to  me  in  conversation  his  appreciation  of  General 
Schuyler  in  terms  almost  identical  with  those  used  by  Mr. 
Webster. 

General  Schuyler  lived  twenty  years  after  the  war,  quite 
long  enough  for  all  matters  of  a  personal  character  to  be  scru- 
tinized and  detei-mined.  He  took  an  active  part  in  politics; 
and  at  no  period  of  our  country's  history  were  rival  partisans 
more  bitter  and  personal.  Yet  no  one  ever  brought  up,  in  the 
excitement  of  party  strife,  these  rumors  against  his  reputation, 
started  during  the  war.  They  wei-e  deemed  so  idle,  and  were 
considered  so  amply  refated,  as  to  have  no  longer  a  place  in 
men's  minds  or  memories. 

With  all  the  companions  of  his  militaiy  life — with  Washing- 
ton, Lafayette,  and  other  surviving  leaders,  as  well  as  with 
those  who  served  under  him,  or  were  a  part  of  his  military 
family,  to  whom  his  personal  militaiy  character  was  thoroughly 
known,  he  ever  preserved  the  most  intimate  pereonal  relations 
— rel  s  wholly  incompatible  with  any  suspicion  on  their 
part  that  he  had  ever  been  deficient  in  personal  courage.  As 
he  advanced  in  years,  that  respect  for  his  personal  character 
appears  to  have  increased.  He  was  the  fiiend  and  adviser  of 
Hamilton,  and  though  a  bitter  political  opponent  of  Jefferson, 
the  latter  was  a  visitor  at  his  house,  and  consulted  with  him 
upon  questions  of  finance.  He  died  with  the  conviction, 
shared  until  now  by  his  family  and  friends,  that  whatever  esti- 
mate the  future  historian  might  place  upon  his  capacity  as  a 
public  servant,  his  private  character  was  beyond  the  reach  of 
cavil  or  of  blame. 

I  do  not  think,  as  against  this  general  recoixi  of  his  life,  the 
grounds  you  rely  upon  for  an  opposite  conclusion  are  sound. 
I  feel  justified  in  asking  you  to  reconsider  your  opinion ;  and 
should  you  find  occasion  to  change  it,  so  far  as  to  admit  that 
the  charge  of  "  suspicion  of  want  of  personal  courage"  had  no 
more  ground  for  belief  than  those  other  charges  which  were 


i-i 


-'tm-i 


1  of  General 
ased  by  Mr. 

e  war,  quite 
sr  to  be  scru- 
t  in  politics; 
val  partisans 
lit  up,  in  the 
is  reputation, 
lie,  and  were 
sr  a  place  in 


27 


publicly  inquired  into  and  refuted,  that  you  will,  in  justice  to 
General  Schuyler's  memory,  publish  a  note  to  that  effect  in  the 
preface  to  your  next  forthcoming  volume. 

Respectfully  youra,  &c., 

George  L.  Schuvlek, 
Hon.  George  Bancrofi', 

21st  Street,  New  York. 


ith  Washing- 
svell  as  with 
his  military 
s  thoroughly 
mal  relations 
cion  on  Hieir 
iourage.  As 
nal  character 
id  adviser  of 
of  Jefferson, 
ed  with  him 
!  conviction, 
whatever  esti- 
3apacity  as  a 
the  reach  of 

his  life,  the 
n  are  sound. 


ipinion ; 


and 


o  admit  that 

•age"  had  no 

which  were 


Nkw  York,  Feb.  4th,  1867. 

Dear  Sir: 

Excuse  me  for  reminding  you  that  my  communication  of 
January  16th  ended  with  a  request 

May  I  ask  you,  at  your  earliest  convenience,  to  inform  me  of 
your  decision  in  regard  to  it 

Respectfully  yours,  &c., 
George  L.  Schuyler. 
Hon.  George  Bancroft, 

17  West  21st  Street,  New  York. 


New  York,  Febrnary  5th,  1867. 

Dear  Sir: 

If  your  views  of  the  duty  of  a  historian  coincide  in  any 
degree  with  mine,  you  will  on  second  thought  ngree  with  me 
that  he  ought  never  to  settle  in  advance  with  the  representative 
of  a  family  the  terms  in  which  he  should  speak  of  any  member 
of  that  family  who  lias  played  a  public  pai-t     My  next  volume 

4 


5 


H 


'^"mimismm 


4k 


i;- 


28 


will  in<*ike  honorable  mention  of  the  public  services  of  General 
Schuyler ;  but  what  I  shall  say  of  him  I  cannot  communicate 
to  you  now.  This  is  so  obviously  the  dictate  of  propriety,  that 
it  must  meet  your  approval.  a 

In  reference  to  any  reasonings  or  documents  which  you  may 
communicate  to  me,  they  will  receive  my  most  respectful  and 
impartial  consideration. 

As  to  the  special  point  on  which  you  have  written  to  me, 
we  are  not  so  far  apart  as  some  phrases  in  your  letter  would 
seem  to  imply.  We  are  agreed  that  General  Schuyler  was 
removed  from  the  Northern  command  at  the  end  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1777,  by  an  almost  unanimous .  vote  of  the  States  in 
Congress,  notwithstanding  that  New  York  had  at  that  time 
in  its  delegation  friends  of  Schuyler  thoroughly  skilled  in 
parliamentary  tactics.  We  are  also  agreed  that  the  change  of 
command  was  founded,  not  on  the  odium  which  attended  the 
losing  of  Ticonderoga,  but  merely  on  the  representation  of  the 
Eastern  States  that  their  militia,  suspicious  of  his  military 
character,  would  not  turn  out  in  defence  of  New  York  while 
he  presided  in  the  Northern  Department  But  whether  the 
men  thus  suspicious,  in  Congress  or  out  of  Congi-ess,  were  in 
the  right,  or  were  simply  mistaken,  or  were  such  as  deserve 
to  be  called  by  so  harsh  an  epithet  as  scoundrels,  is  a  point  on 
which  I  have  expressed  no  opinion ;  and  where  I  refer  in  words 
of  my  own  to  the  antipathy  which  existed  between  Schuyler 
and  the  New  England  troops,  I  call  it,  in  words  carefully 
chosen,  "a  not  wholly  unreasonable  aversion"  on  their  pai-t 
Nay,  more,  though  I  believe  Schuyler  himself,  at  a  later  day, 
declared  Congress  to  have  acted  wisely  in  supei-seding  him,  I 
have  nowhere  said  so ;  but  have  simply  narrated  the  events  as 
they  happened 

I  sometimes  think  you  have  never  read  my  volume.  High 
praise  is  awarded  to  Schuyler  as  an  officer  and  as  a  man. 
On  page  200,  for  example,  I  speak  of  him  as  a  military  com- 


29 


i!^ 


ncefi  of  General 
)t  communicate 
i"  propriety,  that 

R^hich  you  may 
respectful  and 

written  to  me, 
ur  letter  would 
[  Schuyler  was 
!nd  of  the  sum- 
f  the  States  in 
d  at  that  time 
^hly  skilled  in 
t  the  change  of 
sh  attended  the 
sentation  of  the 
of  his  military 
ew  York  while 
at  whether  the 
sngi'ess,  were  in 
lUch  as  deserve 
Is,  is  a  point  on 
I  refer  in  words 
tween  Schuyler 
ATords  carefully 

on  their  part 
at  a  later  day, 
ereeding  him,  I 
?d  the  events  as 

volume.  High 
and  as  a  man. 
a  military  com- 


mander ever  on  the  alert,  and  doing  the  right  tiling,  and  a 
most  important  thing,  at  the  right  moment,  and  from  his  own 
impulse,  leaving  the  reader  to  contrast  his  conduct  with  that  of 
Gates  under  similar  circumstances.  And  again,  on  page  338, 
he  is  described  as  one  who  loved  his  country  more  than  rank 
or  fortune. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Geo.  Bancroft. 


New  York,  Feb.  9th,  1867. 


Dear  Sir  ; 


Your  note  of  the  5th  instant  is  received.  As  connected 
with  the  special  point  on  which  I  have  written  to  you,  namely, 
General  Schuyler's  want  of  personal  courage,  you  introduce  as 
new  matter  the  circumstances  connected  with  his  removal  fi'om 
the  command  of  the  Northern  Army,  upon  which  you  say  that 
we  agree.  There  are,  however,  several  statements  to  which  I 
do  not  agree.     I  refer  to  them  in  their  order : 

Whether  the  vote  for  the  removal  of  General  Schuyler 
(August  1st,  1777)  was  nearly  unanimous  or  not,  I  have  no 
means  of  ascertaining.  The  "  yeas  and  nays"  for  any  resolu- 
tion in  Congress  were  called,  for  the  first  time  in  its  history, 
on  the  8th  of  August,  one  week  later.  The  resolution,  as  it 
appears  upon  the  journal,  reads  as  follows:  Resolved,  That 
Major-General  Schuyler  be  directed  to  repair  to  head-quarters. 
That  General  Washington  be  directed  to  order  such  General 
Officer  as  he  shall  think  proper,  to  repair  immediately  to  the 
Northern  Department  to  relieve  Major-General  Schuyler  in  his 
command  there. 


! :    '■ 


■ 


m^-n.: 


fljMi' 


I 


30 


'Hii 


General  Washington  declined  taking  any  part  in  this  busi- 
ness. 

In  a  letter  to  Congress  (August  3d)  "  he  desires  to  be  ex- 
cused fi'om  making  any  appointment  to  the  command  of  the 
Northern  Army." 

It  was  Upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter  that  General  Gates  (as 
stated  in  your  last  volume)  was  appointed,  by  the  vote  of  eleven 
states. 

That  the  adherents  of  General  Gates,  in  and  out  of  Congress, 
made  large  use  of  "  the  want  of  confidence  of  the  militia  of  the 
Eastern  States  in  General  Schuyler's  military  chara'iter,"  is  cer- 
tainly true ;  but  that  such  want  of  confidence  was  in  any  way 
connected  with  suspicions  of  his  lack  of  personal  courage  re- 
mains to  be  shown.  I  find  no  evidence  of  it  in  any  quarter 
entitled  to  consideration. 

You  are,  I  think,  mistaken  in  assuming  that  General  Schuy- 
ler's harsh  epithet  of  "  Scoundrels"  was  applied  to  any  persons, 
in  or  out  of  Congress,  who  openly  criticised  his  military  charac- 
ter. The  letter  of  Mr.  Duer,  in  answer  to  which  he  uses  that 
expression,  refers  to  the  hints  and  sneere  of  malicious  individ- 
uals— not  to  any  outspoken  manly  attacks ;  and  to  such  peraons 
the  epithet  justly  appliea 

I  was  not  aware  that  General  Schuyler,  at  a  later  day,  de- 
clared Congress  to  have  acted  wisely  in  superseding  him ;  but 
if  so,  he  certainly  did  not  thereby  indorse  the  idea  that  his 
want  of  personal  courage  was  questioned,  by  his  removal. 

Upon  the  petition  of  six  General  Officers  of  the  Northern 
Army,  Congress  requested  him  to  remain  with  them,  after  being 
deprived  of  his  command.  He  did  remain,  even  under  such 
trying  circumstances,  and  was  present  when  Burgoyne  laid 
down  his  arms  on  his  own  grounds,  amid  the  smouldering 
ruins  of  his  home,  which  the  latter  had  so  wantonly  destroyed. 

If  the  action  of  Congress  in  removing  General  Schuyler 
from  his  command  can  be  brought  forward  as  bearing  upon 


Mi 


in  this  busi- 

ires  to  be  ex- 
[iniand  of  the 

eral  GatCvS  (as 
vote  of  eleven 

t  of  Congress, 
militia  of  the 
ra'iter,"  is  cer- 
IS  in  any  way 
il  courage  re- 
1  any  quarter 

eneral  Schuy- 
)  any  persons, 
ilitary  charac- 
he  uses  that 
3ious  individ- 
>  such  pereons 

later  day,  do- 
ing him ;  but 
idea  that  his 
emoval. 
the  Northern 
m,  after  being 
n  under  such 
lurgoyne  laid 
smouldering 
ly  destroyed. 
;ral  Schuyler 
bearing  upon 


31 


his  pei"sonal  character,  the  subsequent  action  of  the  same  body 
upon  the  subject  of  his  resignation,  should  be  entitled  to  some 
weight  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion. 

•  On  the  5th  of  March,  1779,  more  than  eighteen  months  after 
his  removal  from  an  active  command.  General  Schuyler  sent 
in  his  resignation  to  Congress.  On  the  8th  of  March  it  was 
moved  that  it  be  accepted.  To  this  an  amendment  was  offered 
in  the  following  words:  "Eesolved,  That  the  President  be 
directed  to  inform  General  Schuyler  that  Congress  are  very- 
desirous  of  retaining  him  in  the  sei-vice,  especially  in  the 
present  situation  of  affairs;  but  if  the  state  of  his  health  is 
such  as  that  he  judges  it  absolutely  necessary  to  retire.  Con- 
gress, though  reluctantly,  will  acquiesce  and  admit  his  resig- 
natioa" 

This  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  eleven  out  of  the 
twelve  states  represented,  to  give  place  to  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  luas  carried  (against  the  votes  of  New  England  and 
Pennsylvania):  "Resolved,  That  the  President  be  directed  to 
acquaint  Major-General  Schuyler  that  the  situation  of  the  army 
renders  it  inconvenient  to  accept  his  resignation,  and  therefore 
Congress  cannot  comply  with  his  request." 

Would  it  have  been  possible  to  pass  such  a  resolution  were 
there  even  a  suspicion  of  General  Schuyler's  want  of  peraonal 
courage  ? 

A  part  of  this,  however,  seems  foreign  to  the  subject  of  this 
correspondence;  and  referring  back  to  the  commencement  of 
your  note,  I  see  that  I  have  failed  to  explain,  with  sufficient 
clearness,  my  position  in  addressing  you. 

I  have  no  desire  to  settle  in  advance  the  terms  upon  which, 
as  an  historian,  you  should  speak  of  General  Schuyler  in  your 
forthcoming  volume ;  nor  do  I  conceive  myself  entitled  to  ques- 
tion you  personally  (except  to  ask  for  authorities)  upon  what 
you  have  already  said  about  his  public  services.  For  this  you 
are  open  to  criticism  through  the  usual  channels,  and  this  much 


in 


i 


'li 


i 


iwm 


32 


I  expressed  in  my  first  note,  asking  you  for  the  grounds  upon 
whicli  you  speak  of  General  Schuyler  "  as  a  man  wanting  in 
personal  courage." 

Such  a  charge,  you  are  well  aware,  is  a  criminal  charge — as 
against  a  soldier — more  disgraceful  to  him  in  the  world's  esti- 
mation, than  any  other  that  can  be  brought  forward,  however 
base  or  contemptible.  Upon  conviction,  the  rules  of  war  pun- 
ish it  with  death ;  and  society  enshrouds  its  victim  with  a  pall 
of  obloquy  which  never  can  be  raised.  A  charge  made  in  this 
careful  and  deliberate  manner  during  General  Schuyler's  life- 
time must  irretrievably  have  destroyed,  publicly  and  sixjially, 
either  him  or  the  person  who  made  it — the  one  if  the  position 
was  made  goo<l — the  other  if  he  failed  in  the  proof 

Whatever  my  pei-sonal  feelings  may  be,  I  have  endeavored 
to  keep  them  out  of  sight,  in  this  correspondence.  I  have 
assumed  that  in  your  desire  to  delineate  the  noble  traits  of 
"Washington's  character,  and  especially  his  watchful  supervision 
of  the  interests  of  the  whole  country,  you  have  been  induced, 
if  not  to  speak  more  disparagingly  of  othei-s  than  they  deserve, 
at  least  to  use  language  that  grates  more  harshly  on  the  ear  than 
you  really  intended. 

The  same  cause  has  doubtless  had  its  effect  upon  some  of 
your  general  statements.  I  will  cite  two  instances :  Page  373 
you  say  of  General  Schuyler,  "  His  friends  urged  him  to  silence 
the  growing  suspicion  of  his  cowardice ;  he  answered,  '  If  there 
is  a  battle  I  shall  certainly  expose  myself  more  than  is  pru- 
dent'" His  answer  to  those  insinuations  has  been  already 
given  in  the  extract  of  his  letter  to  Mr.  Duer.  The  words  you 
quote  as  his  reply  appear  to  be  made  up  from  portions  of  his 
letter  to  Mr.  Jay  upon  a  very  different  occasion,  and  not  in  reply 
to  any  communication. 

On  the  next  page  you  say :  "Alarmed  by  Schuyler's  want  of 
fortitude,  he  (Washington)  ordered  to  the  North,  Arnold,  who 
was  fearless,"  etc.  • 


u 


H!=^ 


/     / 


TTonnds  u]m)ii 
n  wanting  in 

al  charge — as 

world's  esti- 
irard,  however 
i  of  war  pun- 
n  with  a  pall 

made  in  this 
chuyler's  life- 

and  socially, 
P  the  position 
t 

'e  endeavored 
;nce.  I  have 
oble  traits  of 
il  supervision 
been  induced, 

they  deserve, 
il  the  ear  than 

ipon  some  of 
es:  Page  373 
liim  to  silence 
red,  'If there 
than  is  pru- 
been  already 
he  words  you 
9rtions  of  his 
i  not  in  reply 

yler's  want  of 
Arnold,  who 


33 


It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  place  that  construction  upon  an 
order  of  General  Washington,  arising  from  a  request  of  Oimeral 
Schuyler  to  send  him  an  active  and  spirited  officer  to  drill  his 
raw  militia. 

For  these  reasons,  and  because  the  papers  you  have  sent  me, 
as  well  as  the  allusions  in  your  last  note  to  the  action  of  Con- 
gress, do  not  seem  to  justify  the  conclusions  you  have  drawn,  I 
had  hoped — and  still  hope — that- you  may  be  disposed  to  recon- 
sider them ;  and  if  favorably,  I  have  supposed  that  you  would 
prefer  yourself  to  apply  the  remedy. 

The  method  I  have  suggested  relieves  me  also  from  the 
necessity  of  any  public  notice  of  your  statement,  which  I 
greatly  desire  to  avoid.  It  does  not  apply,  as  you  seem  to 
think,  to  what  is  to  be,  but  to  what  has  been  written  in  your 
history.  I  cannot  see  how  it  in  the  least  impinges  upon  your 
dignity  as  an  author  or  a  historian,  to  inform  me*  definitely  of 
your  intentions  in  regard  to  it;  or  to  say,  as  I  must  again 
respectfully  ask  of  you  to  do,  whether  you  are  willing  to  take 
any  action  in  the  matter  at  all,  in  this  or  any  other  way. 

Respectfiilly  yours,  etc., 

George  L.  Schuyler. 


On  the  15th  of  April  I  addressed  the  following  note 
to  Mr.  Bancroft : 


Nkw  York,  April  15th,  1867. 
Hon.  Gkoroe  Bancroft, 

Sir:  Much  time  has  elapsed  since  my  last  communication,  in  which  I  ask 
whether  you  intend  to  take  any  action  on  the  subject  of  our  correspondence. 

By  your  silence  I  can  only  infer  that  I  have  failed  to  convince  you  that  you  are 
called  upon  to  do  so.  I  have  no  alternative  but  to  deny  publicly  the  correctness 
of  your  account  of  General  Schuyler's  character  for  courage,  which  I  can  view  in 
no  other  light  than  a  gratuitous  insult. 

I  shall,  unless  you  object,  make  iise  of  this  correspondence — partly  because  it 


i 


up 


34 


covern  ho  much  of  tlie  matter  at  issue,  iiml  also  an  sliowinK  that,  in  the  first  piece, 
I  souglit  redress  from  you  privitlely.  Ijy  a  pi-rsotial  appeal  to  your  st'iise  of  justice. 

I  am.  Sir,  yotir  obedleut  servant, 

(tEOUOK  L.  Sciirvi.KH. 


r" 


To  which  I  received  the  following  reply : 


New  York,  April  15th,  1867. 

Sir:  Your  letter  of  this  day  is  received.  It  remains  my  unalterable  purpose  to 
use  any  document  or  argument  which  you  may  ))re8ent  with  perfect  impartiality, 
and  also  not  to  communicate  to  you  in  advance — least  of  all  under  a  menace — 
what  I  may  have  to  say  of  your  ancestor  in  my  next  volume. 

With  the  letters  you  have  luldressed  to  me  you  must  do  what  you  please ;  but 
they  neither  present  my  statements  fairly,  nor  refute  them,  and  so  far  as  General 
Sclniyler  is  concerned,  they  neither  ofler  the  best  excuse  for  his  failures — for  he, 
lilte  other  men,  had  failures — nor  do  they  present  the  strongest  testimonies  of  the 
general  esteem  in  which  his  virtues  as  a  civilian  and  "&  citizen  were  held. 

The  tone  of  your  note  to-day  shows  conclusively  how  proper  it  was  for  me  to 
decline  entering  into  a  correspondence  with  you,  on  a  subject  which  you  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  consider  with  the  critical  calmness  of  a  disinterested 
inquirer. 

I  remain  yours, 

Gkorgk  Bancroft. 


I  have  published  all  the  communications  which  have 
taken  place  between  us,  to  show  that,  in  the  first  place, 
I  asked  for  nothing  but  the  grounds  upon  which  Mr. 
Bancroft  made  one  particular  charge  against  General 
Schuyler  ;  and  also  that  I  confined  my  remarks  in 
writing  to  him,  as  far  as  possible,  to  that  one  point. 
At  the  close  of  my  letter  of  February  9th,  I  distinctly 


,  in  the  flrst  piece, 
ir  Ht'iiHo  ut'JUHtiue. 
nt  Hervnnt, 

L.    ScilCYI.KR. 


pril  15th,  1867. 
tcrable  purpose  to 
Tfect  impartiality, 
nder  a  menace — 

you  please;  but 
80  far  as  General 

failures — for  he, 
estimonies  of  the 
jre  held. 

it  was  for  me  to 
;  which  you  can 
f  a  disinterested 


IGG  Bakuroft. 

which  have 
e  first  place, 

which  Mr. 
nst  General 
remarks   in 

one  point. 
I  distinctly 


>      } 


35 

state  that  what  T  ask  of  him  refers  to  what  has  been, 
and  not  to  what  is  to  be,  written. 

In  my  note  of  April  loth,  written  to  know  whether 
he  objects  to  my  pnblishinfi;  tiie  correspondence  between 
us,  there  is  no  menace.  It  merely  refers  to  the  alterna- 
tive I  had  already  announced  as  incumbent  upon  me, 
if  no  action  were  taken  by  him. 

That  my  communications  to  Mr.  Bancroft  are  far 
from  being  what  I  should  like  them  to  be,  I  am  well 
aware.  I  have  neither  the  ability,  the  knowledge,  nor 
the  facility  in  writing  which  would  enable  me  to  cope 
with  him,  had  I  attempted  to  enter  the  field  of  history 
in  my  wish  to  excuse  General  Schuyler's  failures.  But 
I  have  attempted  nothing  of  the  kin<l.  In  endeavoring 
to  defend  his  memory  against  the  one  charge  of 
cowardice,  I  certainly  have  not,  as  Mr.  Bancroft  truly, 
though  ironically  says,  "brought  forward  the  strongest 
testimonies  of  the  general  esteem  in  which  his  virtues 
as  a  civilian  and  a  citizen  were  held  ;"  but  it  would  not 
be  a  very  difficult  task  to  do  so,  if  it  had  any  special 
bearing  upon  the  subject  at  issue  between  us. 

Some  other  qualities  besides  learning  and  diligence 

are  essential  to  complete  the  character  of  a  successful 

historian.     When  his  materials  are  collected  and  his 

intellect  has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  unless 

5 


n  4 

i 

I 

I 


I  ; 


|T< 


I  if] 


i^ 


;fll 


a; 


l^t: 


m 


36 

treated  with  camlor,  fairness  and  truth,  his  labor  will 
be  in  vain.  He  should  have  some  qualities  of  heart, 
as  well  as  of  the  head.  He  should,  at  least,  be  capable 
of  comprehending  the  feelings  and  motives  of  men 
greater  than  himself — of  distinguishing  the  true  from 
the  false,  and  of  having  some  sympathy  for  generous 
and  unselfish  natures.  He  must  have,  at  all  events, 
sufficient  sense  of  honor  to  save  him  from  the  tempta- 
tion of  advocating  his  favorite  theories  in  violation  of 
the  spirit,  if  not  the  letter,  of  truth. 

Such  are  the  attributes  of  Marshall,  Prescott,  Wash- 
ington Irvhig,  Motley,  and  other  American  writers, 
whose  opinions  carry  conviction  from  the  elevated 
characters  of  the  men  who  advance  them. 

It  remains  to  be  seen  what  place  will  be  accorded  to 
Mr.  Bancroft,  when  his  work  is  completed,  upon  this 
roll  of  honored  names. 

In  the  few  pages  which  Mr.  Bancroft  has  devoted  to 
a  criticism  of  the  Campaign  of  1777  and  the  character 
of  General  Schuyler,  he  has,  in  my  judgment,  given 
false  impressions  to  the  future  student  of  history,  by 
omission  of  what  is  important  to  know,  and  by  an 
unfair  application  of  historical  facts. 

While  expatiating  largely,  elsewhere,  upon  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  Congress,  and  its  positive  inability  to  furnish 


i^^mjUA&s^tmu^^. 


is  labor  will 
ies  of  heart, 
t,  be  capable 
ives  of  men 
le  true  from 
Cor  generous 
t  all  events, 
the  tempta- 
violation  of 

iscott,  Wash- 
ican  writers, 
:lie   elevated 

i  accorded  to 
d,  upon  this 

,s  devoted  to 
the  character 
pnent,  given 
f  history,  by 
,  and  by  an 

ion  the  inefl&- 
ty  to  furnish 


:'.7 

men,  money,  provisions,  and  military  store.-!  to  General 
Washington's  army,  the  reader  might  suppose  that 
General  S(!huylor  hibored  under  no  sucli  dKficalties. 
Gordon  sa3's  :  "On  the  day  of  the  engagement  at 
Hubharton  (July  7th)  General  Schuyler  was  obliged 
to  strip  the  men  at  Fort  Edward,  to  send  to  the  troops 
at  Fort  Anne,  by  which  his  own  men  were  left  with- 
out lead  for  some  days,  except  a  mere  trifle  from 
Albany,  obtained  by  stripping  the  windows.  At  this 
period  he  had  not  above  700  Continentals  and  not 
above  twice  that  numb«  t  of  militia,  and  could  not 
furnish  small  cannon  suftici^mt  for  a  couple  of  little 
schooners  on  Lake  George.  ' 

No  mention  is  made  of  his  gi'eat  aud  successful 
exertions  in  obtaining  supplies,  or  of  his  ]3rompt  action 
in  retarding  the  progress  of  Burgoyne  after  the  evacua- 
tion of  Ticonderoga  by  General  St.  Clair — the  main 
cause  of  the  success  of  a  campaign  which,  for  the  im- 
portance of  its  results,  has  been  ranked  among  the 
seven  great  battles  of  the  world. 

His  firmnoss  in  detailing  from  his  small  force  a  strong 
party  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Stanwix,  contrary  to  the 
decision  of  a  council  of  officers,  and  with  a  new  cry 
of  treason  raised  against  him  for  so  doing,  is  not 
alluded  to. 


i 


.ii 


,■,:. 


38 

His  proposal  to  General  Washington  that  Southern 
troops  should  be  used  at  the  North  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  a  national  instead  of  a  sectional  spirit  in 
the  arrr  ,  is  represented  as  arising  from  a  mean  and 
commonplace  hatred  of  New  England  men,  without 
any  reference  to  the  principal  cause  of  the  difficulty, 
which  arose  from  the  unsettled  relations  of  the  States 
to  the  National  Congress  ;  from  the  unwillingness  of 
.  the  soldiers  to  be  commanded  by  any  but  officers  from 
their  own  States,  and  to  the  impatience  of  the  militia, 
who,  when  called  into  service,  found  themselves  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  the  discipline  of  an  army — to  work 
as  well  as  to  fight. 

Nowhere  is  justice  more  freely  rendered  to  General 
Schuyler  in  regard  to  sectional  difficulties,  misappre- 
hended at  the  time,  than  at  thi .  day  in  the  New 
England  States ;  and  from  no  other  quarter  have  I 
received  such  severe  comments  upon  Mr.  Bancroft's 
estimate  of  General  Schuyler's  character. 

While  exposing,  elsewhere,  the  conduct  of  General 
Charles  Lee,  of  Gates,  and  others,  toward  Washington, 
who,  as  Mr,  Bancroft  says,  "was  surrounded  by  officers 
willing  to  fill  the  ears  of  members  of  Congress  with 
clamor  against  his  management,"  no  reference  is  made 
to  General  Schuyler's  hearty  and  cheerful  co-operation 


it  Southern 
purpose  of 
lal  spirit  in 
a  mean  and 
en,  without 
le  difficulty, 
f  the  States 
ilUngness  of 
officers  from 
the  miUtia, 
iselves  com- 
ly — to  work 

1  to  General 
s,  misappre- 
n  the  New 
rter  have  I 
\  Bancroft's 

:  of  General 
Washington, 
d  by  officers 
angress  with 
Mice  is  made 
co-operation 


39 

and  compliance  with  every  suggestion  from  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief. 

He  has  no  word  for  G-meral  Schuyler's  devotion  to 
his  country  when,  deprived  of  his  command  in  the 
moment  of  victory,  he  contiiuied  to  serve  under  his 
successor,  who  reaped  before  his  eyes  the  laurels  which 
had  been  destined  for  him. 

"  Though  sensible,"  he  says  in  his  letter  to  Congress, 
"  of  the  indignity  of  being  ordered  from  the  command  of 
the  army  at  the  time  when  an  engagement  must  soon 
take  place,"  yet  at  the  same  time  he  writes  to  General 
Washington,  "I  shall  go  on  in  doing  my  duty  and 
endeavoring  to  deserve  your  esteem." 

In  the  Capitol  of  the  Nation,  at  Washington,  is  a 
picture  by  Trumbull  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne, 
of  interest  as  preserving  the  likenesses  of  those  who 
were  present  at  the  scene.  In  this  numerous  assemblage 
of  soldiers,  but  one  figure  is  represented  in  citizen's 
dress.  It  is  that  of  General  Schuyler,  to  whom  the 
sympathetic  nature  of  an  artist  thus  pays  a  passing 
tribute. 

These  omissions,  or  some  of  them,  tend  to  obscure 
the  true  position  of  the  parties  concerned  in  the  Cam- 
paign of  1777.  There  are,  at  the  same  time,  statements 
which  give  impressions  not  warranted  by  the  facts. 


I  i 


40 


In  answer  to  a  remark  like  this:  "Meantime  the 
British  were  never  harried  by  the  troops  with  Schuyler," 
premising  that  Mr.  Bancroft  himself  gives  the  numbers 
under  Burgoyne  as  "7600  choice  men,  exclusive  of 
Indians,  with  the  most  complete  supply  of  artillery 
ever  furnished  to  an  army,"  It  is  worth  while  to  read 
the  army  roll  of  General  Schuyler  at  that  time,  twenty 
days  after  the  battle  of  Hubbardton  previously  re- 
ferred to : 

July  27th.     Continental  troops,  2700. 

MILITIA. 

STATE  OF   CONNECTICUT. 

One  major,  one  captain,  two  lieutenants,  two  ensigns, 
one  adjutant,  one  quartermaster,  six  sergeants,  one 
drummer,  six  sick,  three  rank  and  file — the  rest  deserted. 

STATE   OF   MASSACHUSETTS. 

Berkshire  County. — Somewhat  more  than  200  are 
left. 

Hampshire  County. — Colonel  Moseby's  regiment,  ten 
or  twelve  left. 

STATE   OF    NEW   YORK. 

County  of  Albany. — 1050  left. 

This  being  his  force  on  the  27th,  on  or  about  the 
29th  of  July  General  Schuyler  thought  proper  to  fall 


i^mmmk-.^^  ■■mimms~-~~ 


i!!l|.pfJi;|J|IJ!Jil'i,!«).» 


Tl 


Meantime  the 
vith  Schuyler," 
!s  the  numbers 
,  exclusive  of 
ly  of  artillery 
while  to  read 
t  time,  twenty 
previously  re- 


:s,  two  ensigns, 
sergeants,  one 
i  rest  deserted. 

than  200  are 
I  regiment,  ten 


or  about  the 
proper  to  fall 


41 

back  to  Saratoga,  which  Mr.  Bancroft  comments  upon 
as  follows : 

"The  courage  of  the  commander  being  gone,  his 
officers  and  his  army  became  spiritless,  and,  as  his 
only  resource,  he  solicited  aid  from  Washington  with 
unreasoning  invportunity." 

Even  as  late  as  August  4th,  he  makes  the  following 
return:  "4000  Continental  troops— if  men,  one-third 
of  whom  are  negroes,  boys,  and  men  too  aged  for  field, 
or  indeed  any  other  service,  can  he  called  troops— and 
1500  militia." 

Mr.  Bancroft  quotes  portions  of  private  letters  which 
speak  despondingly  of  the  state  of  affairs,  as  a  proof 
that  the  writers  are  either  untrue  to  the  cause,  or  else 
that  they  betoken  cowardice. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  he  does  not  appreciate  the 
fact  that  some  men  can  look  their  position  in  the  face, 
even  in  the  direst  extremity,  without  flinching  from 
duty  ;  but  I  am  surprised  at  his  inconsistency  in  bring- 
ing forward  such  extracts  as  evidence  of  weakness  in 
Greene,  or  timidity  in  Schuyler,  when  he  makes  them, 
and  justly,  too,  the  ground  of  sympathy  for  others. 
"Such  is  my  situation  (says  Washington  privately), 
that  if  I  were  to  wish  the  bitterest  curse  to  an  enemy 
on  this  side  of  the  grave,  I  should  put  him  in  my  stead 


( 


;  V:.'' 


i  ) 


i 


f» 


'^ 


42 

with  my  feelings."  Again,  writing  to  Congress,  he  says  : 
"  Give  me  leave  to  say  your  affairs  are  in  a  more  unprom- 
ising way  than  you  seem  to  apprehend.  Your  army  is 
on  the  eve  of  dissolution," — and  more  to  the  same  effect. 

General  Montgomery,  whose  courage  and  patriotism 
ure  fully  appreciated  by  a  grateful  country,  writes  to 
General  Schuyler  :  "  I  am  exceedingly  well  pleased  to 
see  Mr.  Wooster  here,  both  for  the  advantage  of  the 
service  and  upon  my  own  account,  for  I  most  earnestly 
request  to  be  suflfered  to  retire  shovdd  matters  stand  on 
such  a  footing  this  winter  as  to  permit  me  to  go  off  with 
honor.  I  have  not  talents  or  temper  for  such  a  com- 
mand. I  am  under  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  acting 
eternally  out  of  character — to  wheedle,  flatter  and  lie. 
I  stand  in  a  constrained  attitude.  I  will  bear  with  it 
for  a  short  time,  but  I  cannot  support  it  long." 

Perhaps  some  future  Bancroft,  regardless  of  General 
Montgomery's  estabhshed  fame,  may  venture  to  speak 
of  him  as  "anxious,"  and  suspected  of  grave  moral 
delinquencies. 

But  I  refrain  from  further  criticisms.  While  it  de- 
volves upon  me  to  defend  General  Schuyler's  personal 
character,  I  am  sensible  that  it  is  more  becoming  to 
leave  to  others,  not  of  his  family,  the  vindication  of  his 
public  career. 


aaaiEiaiiwsa 


ress,  he  says : 
lore  unprom- 
f  our  army  is 
5  same  effect, 
id  patriotism 
ry,  writes  to 
11  pleased  to 
ntage  of  the 
ost  earnestly 
ers  stand  on 
o  go  off  with 
such  a  com- 
iity  of  acting 
,tter  and  lie. 
bear  with  it 
ng." 

IS  of  General 
ure  to  speak 
^rave  moral 

While  it  de- 
ar's personal 
becoming  to 
cation  of  his 


43 

It  may  be  said  that  the  omissions  of  which  I  com- 
plain are  of  details  not  entitled  to  a  place  in  so  general 
a  history  ;  but  it  is  because  Mr.  Bancroft  himself  has, 
for  no  very  obvious  reason,  even  if  it  were  true,  fast- 
ened upon  General  Schuyler  the  imputation  of  coward- 
ice, that  I  deem  it  unfair  to  withhold  what,  otherwise, 
he  would  not  be  called  upon  to  mention. 

"The  best  historians  of  later  times  have  been 
seduced  from  truth,  not  by  their  imagination,  but  by 
their  reason.  Unhappily,  they  have  fallen  into  the 
error  of  distorting  facts  to  suit  general  principles. 
They  arrive  at  a  theory  from  looking  at  some  of  the 
phenomena,  and  the  remaining  phenomena  they  strain 
or  curtail  to  suit  the  theory.  For  this  purpose,  it  is 
not  necessary  that  they  should  assert  what  is  absolutely 
false.  In  every  human  character  and  transaction  there 
is  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil ;  a  little  exaggeration,  a 
little  suppression,  a  judicious  use  of  epithets,  a  watchful 
and  searching  skepticism  with  respect  to  the  evidence 
on  one  side,  a  convenient  credulity  with  respect  to 
every  report  or  tradition  on  the  other,  may  easily  make 
a  saint  of  Laud  or  a  tyrant  of  Henry  the  Fourth." 

These   words  of  Macaulay   describe   a  method   of 

writing  history  which  seems  admirably  suited  to  Mr. 

6 


1  i 


u 


1  J 


:i  ! 


44 

Bancroft's  temperament,  and  of  which  he  has  largely 
availed  himself. 

In  the  preface  to  this  volume,  Mr.  Bancroft  announces 
himself  "as  alone  responsible  for  what  he  has  written." 
Whatever  significance  may,  at  one  time,  have  attached 
itself  to  this  expression,  I  consider  it  as  meanhig,  in  his 
case,  that  his  character  as  a  gentleman,  and  his  general 
standing  with  the  community,  challenge  any  question 
as  to  the  purity  of  his  motives. 

Of  Mr.  Bancroft's  own  estimate  of  himself  in  these 
respects  we  have  some  evidence  in  the  poetical  effusion 
which  closes  his  letter  in  reply  to  Greene,  published  in 
the  last  number  of  the  North  American  Review  : 

"Thou,  notwithstanding,  all  deceit  removed, 
See  the  whole  vision  he  made  manifest; 
And  let  them  wince  who  have  their  withers  wrung. 
What,  though,  when  tasted  first,  thy  voice  shall  prove 
Unwelcome ;  on  digestion,  it  will  turn 
To  vital  nourishment." 

I  do  not  find,  however,  so  much  lofty  disinterestedness 
as  these  hues  would  imply,  is  conceded  to  him  by  others. 

In  his  political  career,  his  course  has  not  been  very 
generally  considered  the  result  of  pure  conviction 
through  principle,  nor  is  the  estimate  placed  upon  him 
by  those  who  have  known  him  the  longest  and  most 


'"^'■v^^^^'mmmii^si^^ 


has  largely 

ft  announces 
las  written." 
ave  attached 
sanhig,  in  his 
i  his  general 
,ny  question 

self  in  these 
tical  effusion 
published  in 

iview  : 


irove 


iterestedness 
m  by  others, 
t  been  very 
e  conviction 
ed  upon  him 
st  and  most 


45 

intimately,  such  as  would  warrant  the  assumption  of 
merit  which  he  evidently  thinks  liis  due. 

If  I  may  be  permitted  to  define  the  much-abused 
term  of  "gentleman,"  as  describing  a  man  who,  while 
jealous  and  tenacious  of  his  own  dignity  and  personal 
rights,  is  equally  careful  and  tender  of  those  of  others, 
and  who,  under  no  circumstances,  can  be  tempted  to 
the  commission  of  a  mean  or  unworthy  action,  it  may 
admit  of  question  whether  Mr.  Bancroft's  character 
will  bear  the  test. 

When,  in  his  note  to  me  of  February  5th,  he  ex- 
presses surprise  at  my  feelings,  because  in  other  parts 
of  his  work  he  gives  praise  to  General  Schuyler,  it  is 
clear  that  he  cannot  appreciate  how  deeply  the  epithet 
of  cowardice  shocks  the  sensibilities  of  honorable  men. 

When  General  Washington,  in  his  memorial  to  Con- 
gress, expresses  a  strong  wish  that  the  appointment  of 
officers  should  be  given  to  "gentlemen,"  Mr.  Bancroft 
deems  it  necessary  to  devote  a  page  to  explain  away 
and  palliate  the  use  of  the  word.  He  speaks  of  General 
Schuyler's  "social  position,"  as  if  that  were  a  draw- 
back to  his  merit. 

By  these  poor  bids  for  popularity,  at  the  expense  of 
dignity,  he  shows  that  weakness  of  a  common  nature 
which  cannot  take  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  American 


46 

people,  who  then,  as  now,  cordially  recognize  the  supe- 
rior advantages  of  culture  and  refinement  in  those  who 
are  true  to  the  greater  responsibilities  and  the  broader 
duties  to  humanity  they  entail  upon  their  possessors. 

I  hope  I  shall  not  be  considered  as  transgressing  the 
bounds  of  propriety  in  making,  these  remarks  in  a 
matter  which,  as  between  me,  the  representative  of 
General  Schuyler,  and  Mr.  Bancroft,  is  of  a  personal 
nature. 

In  my  correspondence  with  him  I  endeavored  to  keep 
in  the  background  my  own  outraged  feelings,  assum- 
ing that  if  I  could  convince  him  of  error,  he  would  be 
ready  to  acknowledge,  and  himself  to  remedy  it. 

Though  I  have  failed  in  this,  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
most  casual  reader  will  find  nothing  in  the  documents 
Mr.  Bancroft  has  submitted  to  me  which  justifies  what 
he  has  written. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  believe  that  those  who  are 
famihar  -with  the  state  of  public  opinion  just  after  the 
evacuation  of  Ticonderoga,  and  who  have  read  at  full 
length  those  letters  of  General  Schuyler's  friends,  writ- 
ten to  him  at  that  time,  (extracts  from  which  form  more 
than  half  of  Mr.  Bancroft's  authorities,)  will  be  at  a 
loss  to  conjecture  what  motive  has  induced  him  to 
venture  so  far  on  such  an  unstable  basis. 


mm. 


"y^i 


^tm-vrnvv  IP  jwpm.'-i. ,    I  III' LI  U.J.    •<n> ']Mr  iMiu  i»  iHpwT- 


3  the  siipe- 
those  who 
he  broader 
jssessors. 
ressing  the 
larks  hi  a 
iiitative  of 
a  personal 

ed  to  keep 

gs,  assum- 

}  would  be 

yit. 

le  that  the 

documents 

tifies  what 

3  who  are 
t  after  the 
ead  at  full 
mds,  writ- 
form  more 
11  be  at  a 
d  him   to 


47 

No  one  of  a  true  and  manly  spirit  would  charge 
another  with  cowardice,  unless  upon  incontestable  proof. 
Even  then  the  instincts  of  a  gentleman  would  make 
him  shrink  from  bringing  it  forward,  unless  compelled 
theri^to  by  its  bearing  upon  others,  or  by  the  require- 
ments of  history.  This,  however,  Mr.  Bancroft  has  done, 
and  has.  given  it  the  large  circulation  of  his  history. 

To  those  few  who  feel  sufficient  hiterest  in  the  per- 
sonal character  of  General  Schuyler  to  read  my  protest 
against  this  wanton  insult  to  his  memory,  I  deem  it  my 
duty  to  point  out,  to  this  extent,  the  relative  positions 
in  the  estimation  of  their  contemporaries,  of  the 
accuser  and  the  accused. 

The  complete  life  of  General  Schuyler  is  yet  to  be 
published.  In  the  meantime  I  look  without  much 
apprehension  upon  this  attempt  of  Mr.  Bancroft  to 
deprive  him  of  the  reputation  of  a  brave  and  unselfish 
patriot — a  reputation  hitherto  accorded  to  him  by  his 
countrymen,  based  upon  the  verdict  of  historians  whose 
names  are  honored  and  whose  works  are  destined  to 
live. 

George  L.  Schuyler, 

6  East  14th  street. 

New  York,  April  16th,  1867. 


^^ 


,«f«-'*>" 


X 


r- 


LbApIO 


-i^ 


r 


X 


■ilif 


